Apparatus for handling invalids or the like.



A. SKEFPINGTON. APPARATUS FOR HANDLING INVALIDS 011- THE LIKE. APPLIOATION FILED JULY 15,1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

coLuimm PLANDGRAPH C0,; WA sumo-r0 N. u. c.

Patented Dec. 23, 1913.

A. SKEFFINGTON. APPARATUS FOR HANDLING INVALIDS OR THE LIKE.

APPLIOATION FILED JULY15, 1911.

1,082,177. Patented Dec. 23, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

ARTHUR SKEFFINGTON, 0F BLAGKHEATH, LONDON, ENGLAND.

APPARATUS FOR HANDLING INVALIIJS OR THE LIKE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 23, 1913.

Application filed July 15, 1911. Serial No. 638,743.

To'all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR SKEFFING- TON, a subject of the King of England, residing at Blackheath, London, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Handling Invalids or the like, of which the following is a specification.

This invention is for improvements in or relating to invalid apparatus of the type that comprises a roller carried by mounts secured on the end-frame at the head of the bed and receiving a long-sheet that hung freely from the roller. A second roller could be similarly mounted on the end-frame at the foot of the bed, if desired, and by connecting the sheet to both rollers and winding it up the patient could be lifted from the bed.

Where the bedstead is not too light, the above arrangement is found quite satisfactory, but with light bedsteads the longitudinal members of the bed or the end frames themselves, are liable to buckle under the strain put upon them. Previously it has been proposed to employ upright supports or end frames that carry lifting pulleys and that rest direct on the floor.

According to the present invention, there are combined with one or more lifting rollers or the like and upright supports or end frames therefor, side wings or struts for the supports, the supports or their struts or both being arranged when loaded to rest direct upon the floor.

In some cases the side wings may be extended to meet each other so that the whole apparatus is self-supporting.

In the accompanying drawings :-Figure 1 is a perspective view of a self-supporting form of the apparatus constructed according to this invention erected around a bedstead; Fig. 2 shows the same apparatus with the bedstead removed; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a modified form of the apparatus according to this invention; Fig. a shows a detail of Fig. 3 on a larger scale; Fig. 5 is a section of Fig. t on the line 5-5, and Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing yet another construction according to this invention.

Like letters indicate like parts throughout the drawings.

The roller supports or end-frames M are built of vertical members A connected together by transverse members A The rollers B carried by the end-frames may be connected by any convenient means to the vertical elements of the frame, such means preferably being adjustable so that the rollers can be situated at different heights according to the purpose for which they are required.

Pivoted to each vertical member of the end-frames is a side wing comprising two horizontal rods C connected by vertical rods C and a strut C that extends from the upper portion of the member A down to the upper horizontal member C. The rods or tubular elements C are hinged or pivoted to the elements A by tubular T-pieces C that are free on the members A and are rigidly secured to the elements C. The T- pieces are prevented from endwise movement on the members A by suitable stops. The struts C may be adjustably connected to the elements A and C, or the eye C on the element A that receives the upper end of the strut may be made to pivot about the strut, in which case stops may be provided to prevent it from moving along the vertical member.

The end-frames A, A are made wide enough to extend beyond the end-frames D of the bed with which they are to be used and the wings C C are made of sufficient length to meet or approximately meet when placed in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The two end members C of each pair of wings can then be secured together by straps or any other fastening E. The apparatus can thus be quickly erected around any bedstead, one piece of apparatus serving perhaps the whole ward of a hospital, and the wings being hinged to the end frames enables the apparatus to be more readily stowed away or conveyed from place to place. The end-frames may be carried on wheels F. Thus by tilting any one endframe backward so that the wings clear the floor, this half portion of the apparatus can be wheeled from one place to another.

It will be seen that this apparatus as a whole constitutes a collapsible and selfsupporting lifting frame that is, it does not in any way depend on the bed for support and may be used without a beadstead as shown in Fig. 2.

The rollers B may be used to operate a drawsheet G or to lift a frame G as shown,

K that can slide upon the strut H, Figs. 4.

and 5, and is secured by set screws K The yoke K thus provides a slot K between it and the strut H, and through this a bolt L- extends. The bolt has a hooked end L that is engaged with the member J of the bedstead and the other end of the bolt receives a winged nut L Between the nut and the strut H with its yoke K, a plate L is interposed and it will thus be seen that:

a certain amount of adjustment is permitted the strut H without shifting the yoke K and further adjustment may be obtained by releasing the set screw K and moving the yoke along; the connection H can also be moved along the roller support as already mentioned. The adjustment of these struts is preferably such that their lower ends are nearly but not quite in contact with the floor -so that when loaded the give of the bedstead lowers them against the floor thereby preventing further distortion of the bedstead. The roller supports 11* used with this construction of strut may extend down to the floor if desired, but those shown in Fig. 3 are provided with transverse frame members M that rest upon the bedstead to take the downward thrust and they are re tained in a vertical position by straps or other fastenings M M connecting them to, the end-frames of the bedstead itself. The Vertical members of the roller support at the end where the fastenings M are located are conveniently carried down below the level of the longitudinal m'e'mbers J of the bedstead as shown at M*. These downward extensions "i thus help the struts H to resist the pivoting tendency of the roller support about the fastening's h In the construction described in Fig. 8 the bedstead itself completes the supporting structure for the rollers, as whether the roller supports are extended down to the ground or not the bedstead constitutes the distance pieces between the two end supports preventing them from being drawn together. Instead, however, of the bedstead serving this purpose, the roller supports may themselves be provided with longitudinal distance members N, Fig. 6. These members may be dropped into chills N secured to the vertical members of the supports and operating in the same manner as the chills for receiving the longitudinal members of the bedstead. The struts 0 may be connected to the longitudinal members N by a clamp such as is shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5 or by other suitable means.

The apparatus shown in all the figures of the accompanying drawings is conveniently made up of tubing, but this as will be readily understood, is not essential to the invention.

Obviously, the struts H and 0 need not be formed in one piece, for instance, the upper portion of the strut 0 could be clamped to the longitudinal member N and the lower portion, which might be separate from it, could also be clamped to the longitudinal member N either in a position directly opposite the portion 0 or at a distance therefrom. For example, the two lower portions of the struts Q on one side of the ap paratus could be situated in the position shown at in dotted lines, Fig. 6, and hinged together at 0 the free ends of the members 8* being adjustably connected to the longitudinal member N. Obviously, this arrangement could be applied to apparatus wherein the bedstead forms one of the supporting elements.

In the self-supporting apparatus where the wings of one rolleiwsupport meet those of the other, the wings may be extensible either by making them telescopic or otherwise adjustable; hey may moreover be connected together only at their bases as will be readily understood.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In an apparatus of. the character described, the combination of a vertical headframe, a vertical foot-frame, a transverse roller on the head-frame, a sheet having one end wound on the roller. a transverse roller on the foot-frame receiving the opposite end of the sheet that is wound on the headframe roller, means for anchoring the two frames so that one cannot travel bodily toward the other under the pull of the sheet upon the two rollers, struts on the headframe extending downward at each side for direct contact with the floor and forward toward the foot-frame, and struts on the foot-frame extending downward at each side for direct contact with the floor and forward toward the head-frame, substantially as set forth.

2. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination of a vertical headframe, a vertical foot-frame, a transverse roller on the head-frame, a sheet having one end wound on to the roller, a transverse roller on the foot-frame receiving the opposite end of the sheet that is wound on the head-frame roller, means for anchoring the two frames so that one cannot travel bodily toward the other under the pull of said sheet, struts hinged to the head frame about vertical axes, and struts hinged to the foot-frame about vertical axes extending downward for direct contact with the floor and forward toward the other frame, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination of a vertical headfram'e, a vertical foot-frame, a transverse roller on the head-frame, a sheet having one end wound on to the roller, a transverse roller on the foot-frame receiving the 0pposite end of the sheet that is wound on the head-frame roller, means for anchoring the two frames so that one cannot travel bodily toward the other under the pull of the sheet upon the two rollers, struts in the form of side frames that are hinged about vertical axes to the head-frame and extend downward at each side for direct contact with the floor and forward toward the footframe, struts in the form of side frames hinged to the foot-frame and extending downward at each side for direct contact with the floor and forward where they meet the ends of the side-frames of the head frame, and means for connecting the sideframes of the head-frame to the sideframes of the foot-frame, substantially as set forth.

4:. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination of a vertical headframe that is supported direct from the floor, a vertical foot-frame that is supported direct from the floor, a roller on the head-frame disposed transversely, a sheet wound on to the roller, a roller on the foot frame disposed transversely receiving the opposite end of the sheet that is wound on the head-frame roller, side frames hinged about vertical axes to the head-frame and extending forward and downward for direct contact with the floor, side frames hinged about vertical axes to the foot-frame and extending downward for direct contact with the floor, and means for preventing the side frames from splaying laterally substantially as set forth.

5. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination of a vertical headframe that is supported direct from the floor, a vertical foot-frame that is supported direct from the floor, a roller on'the head-frame disposed transversely, a sheet wound on the roller, a roller on the footframe disposed transversely, and the opposite end of the sheet that is wound on the head-frame roller, side struts hinged about vertical axes to the head-frame and side struts hinged about vertical axes to the foot frame, said struts extending forward and downward for direct contact with the floor, and comprising an upper diagonal member and a lower horizontal member with a downwardly directed extension, the diagonal member being hinged at its top to the head-frame and rigidly connected at its bottom to the horizontal member, which horizontal member is also hinged to the head-frame, about vertical axes and extending downward at each side for direct contact with the floor and forward to the head-frame, each strut comprising a diagonal member and a horizontal member having a downwardly directed extension, the diagonal member being hinged at its upper end to the foot-frame and rigidly secured at its lower end to the horizontal member which lower end is also hinged to the footframe, and means for preventing splaying of the struts laterally, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ARTHUR SKEFFINGTON.

l/Vitnesses A. M. HAYWARD, RONALD DOLLEYMORE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

